Nearly Authentic Black Forest Cake
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There are so many variations on a Black Forest Cake, but they really miss the mark. This nearly authentic black forest cake gives you all the traditional flavors with some of the shortcuts we busy people need!
Being Czech, I am all about all things Bavarian, chocolatey, rich, and decadent.
We are neighbors with Bavaria after all, and the cross over blessedly gave us the Black Forest Cake. But in the States, a Black Forest cake typically just means a lack luster chocolate cake, with overly sweet cherry filling and a buttercream frosting that just puts the sickly sweetness into overdrive.
Hard pass.
What is an authentic Black Forest Cake like?
The authentic version is a solid chocolate cake, slightly drier than most American cakes, but America’s Test Kitchen used their Devil’s Food Cake recipe as the base, creating a slightly fudgier cake than the “real” version.
For the frosting, the cake is made with a stabilized, not-too-sweet, whipped cream. The whipped cream is key, and you will not miss the Americanized buttercream for an instant.
I will happily do a step-by-step tutorial for the stabilized whip cream.
And of course, you need the kirsh.
You can find Kirsch, or Kirschwasser, at most stores or liquor stores.
This would also be excellent with a good brandy.
What cherries are best for a Black Forest Cake?
For the cherries, I followed ATK’s instructions and found Morello cherries at my local Trader Joe’s. I would not recommend using a cherry pie filling for this.
Ingredients for Nearly Authentic Black Forest Cake
- Cocoa Powder, preferably Dutch Processed
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Water
- Unsweetened Chocolate
- Espresso Powder, or other instant coffee powder
- Unsalted Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Sour Cream
- Vanilla Extract
- Chocolate Bar
- Sour Cherries, in light Syrup
- Sugar
- Kirsh, or Kircshwasser, or other cherry flavored booze
- Cornstarch
- Heavy Whipping Cream
To get the best of all the flavors, I highly suggest you make this cake two days in advance.
The flavors will continue to mellow, and meld as it sits and chills. So while this nearly authentic Black Forest cake a bit labor intensive, it is so. damn. worth it.
Inspired Homemade Recipes To Try
Lemon Elderflower Cake – As in Prince Harry and Meghan’s Wedding CAKE!
Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream
https://homemadehome.com/black-forest-chocolate-chunk-muffins/
https://homemadehome.com/black-forest-cupcakes/
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Nearly Authentic Black Forest Cake
- Prep Time: 3 Hours
- Cook Time: 1 Hour
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 1 Cake 1x
- Category: Baking
- Method: Oven
Description
There are so many variations on a Black Forest Cake, but they really miss the mark. This nearly authentic black forest cake gives you all the traditional flavors with some of the shortcuts we busy people need!
Ingredients
Devil’s Food Cake –
- 1 /2 cup Cocoa Powder, preferably Dutch Processed
- 1 1/2 cup Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 1/4 cup Boiling Water
- 4 oz Unsweetened Chocolate, chopped
- 1 tsp Espresso Powder, or other instant coffee powder
- 10 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
- 3 Eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 8 ounces Chocolate Bar, shaved (a veggie peeler works great). Reserve shavings for final decoration
Cherries Soaked in Kircsh –
- 2 cups jarred Sour Cherries, in light Syrup, drained and 1 cup of the syrup set aside. (I bought the Trader Joe’s Morello Cherries)
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Kirsh, or Kircshwasser, or other cherry flavored booze
Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting –
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
- 3 cups Heavy Whipping Cream, chilled
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE
Place racks in the middle position of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease 3 8-inch cake pans, and dush with extra cocoa powder, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together the water, chopped unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, espresso powder until smooth.
In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – about three minutes. Add in one egg at a time, and mix for about 30 seconds before adding the next. Beat in the sour cream, and vanilla. With the speed on low, pour in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the wet chocolate mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixer bowl, and ensure everything is completely incorporated.
Divide the cake batter between all the pans, and tap the pans to settle the batter and smooth the tops. This also releases any potential air bubbles. Bake for 18-22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through.
Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cool at least 2 hours prior to completing cake.
FOR THE KIRSCH SOAKED CHERRIES –
Drain the cherries and reserve 1 cup of the syrup. Pick out the 8 prettiest cherries and set them aside to garnish the top of the cake. Cut the remaining cherries in half and place them in a second bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the 1 cup of cherry syrup and the sugar to a simmer. Simmer until the syrup reduces to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the kirsch. Take 1 Tbsp of the mixture and pour this over the 8 pretty cherries you set aside. And an extra 1/4 cup of the syrup should be poured over the halved cherries. Set aside the remaining syrup to brush over the cooled cakes.
FOR THE STABILIZED WHIPPED CREAM –
Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together in a saucepan and whisk in 1/2 cup of the heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly until the mixture begins to thicken, about 3-5 minutes. Set it aside to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the remaining 2 1/2 cups of the heavy cream until it is begins to get very frothy. Add in the cooled sugar/cream mixture. And beat the whipped cream until soft peaks form.
TO ASSEMBLE CAKE –
Using a skewer, poke holes into the layers of cake about 1 inch apart. Brush the reserved kirsch/cherry syrup over the cakes. It will take about 1/4 cup of syrup per cake. This seems like a lot, but DO NOT SKIMP on this step!! Use it all!! (This is a lesson learned from me.) It may take time to get it all in there, but do it.
Line a cake stand with four strips of parchment paper. Place the first layer of the cake on the cake stand. Top the layer with 1/2 cup of the stabilized whipped cream. Spread evenly over the layer. Top with half of the halved cherries into the whipped cream. Gently top with another 1/2 cup of the whipped cream.
Top with another layer of cake and repeat the process above.
Top the last layer of cake. Spread the whipped cream over the top layer, and around the sides of the cake. (reserve some of the whipped cream if you would like to add swirls of whipped cream to the very top, like I did.) This does NOT need to be super pretty or smooth. The chocolate shavings will cover the whipped cream.
Lightly press the chocolate shavings into the side of the cake. Using a piping bag with a star tip, fill with whipped cream and make 8 evenly distributed swirls on top of the cake. Gently press the eight reserved cherries on top of the swirls. Sprinkle the top of the whipped cream and cherries with some extra chocolate shavings.
Refrigerate the cake for at least one day before serving. Slice and serve.
Notes
Cake from America’s Test Kitchen Black Forest Cake, mildly adapted and my notes added.
For the stabilized whipped cream you call for vanilla extract, but at no time do the instructions tell us when or how to use it.
Whoops! My fingers must have been typing too fast! I’ll get it added in. Add it in with the rest of the fresh whipping cream when you do your final whip!
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I tried out a cake with the above recipe. The cake was very soft and tasty. Thank you.
I’m so so pleased you liked the cake Ronak!! Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing forest cake recipe, Surely i will try this recipe in my son’s birthday. In this Video cakes looks very pretty and yummy . Again thanks for write this blog for us!
The cake was very soft and tasty , Again thanks for write this blog for us!
You have given a really good description of the authentic Black Forest cake and the ingredients used in this recipe.
I will try this recipe on my birthday.
Trader Joe’s doesn’t sell jarred cherries anymore do you have an alternative product recommendation?
Oh really? I wonder if they just sell them seasonally? Hmmm, Amazon would be the next best I think for the specific type mentioned in the recipe.
hello,
Thanks for sharing this black forest cake recipe. This is my favorite flavor in cake. Also you recipe is easy to make. this cake is awesome and delicious in taste.
This black forest cake recipe is very nice and also easy for making. I made it easily with your guides and cake was very delicious in taste. All loved it. Thankyou and keep going…
You have given a really good description of the authentic Black Forest cake and the ingredients used in this recipe.
Thanks for sharing…
My layers did not rise, each one was less than 1 inch in height. I followed the directions to a T, used farm fresh eggs. What could have been the problem
Good morning Sylvia, I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out as expected. My first thought is that the batter may have been overmixed? Or if you’re using older baking soda and baking powder, it’s potency has faded. Those are usually the culprits that I see. I hope you give it another chance!
The recipe I printed out was triple the quantity and some of the measurements in the ingredient list and in the instructions seemed messed up. For instance, the recipe called for “3/2” cups of cocoa powder. Is this supposed to be 3 1/2 cups? It also called for “9” cups of heavy cream but the amount of cream used in the instructions only add up to 3 cups total. Very confusing.
I noticed that too when I doubled the recipe. 2/2 cups of cocoa powder was confusing so I went back to the single amounts to figure out what was happening. I realized the website just added to the numerator and didn’t reduce the fraction to its simplest form. The 2/2 meant 1 cup. 3/2 would reduce to 1 1/2 cups 🙂
Oh goodness! Good catch! Sorry for the confusion!
so nice
Do you have the ingredients available by weight?
I ask this because cups are often different between Can and USA.
Also would a 9×13 cake pan work for 2x. The recipe?
Need to make a larger cake for my crowd.
Excellent recipe! it will be a nice special cake for every occasion.
Perhaps a silly question- the instructions say: Refrigerate the cake for at least one day before serving-do I need to cover the cake or can I just put it in the fridge as is? I dont have a container that would cover it without trashing the icing but I dont want to leave it naked in the fridge if thats also going to trash it.
Good morning!! You can totally keep it uncovered in the fridge. The whipped frosting will stiffen a little on the outside, but it won’t get too crusty or weird. Or, keep it uncovered in the fridge for a couple of hours, so it hardens a bit – then use toothpicks and drape the plastic wrap over the cake so it doesn’t stick to the frosting and ruin your hard work. Then just remove them before serving, and you can gently cover the toothpick holes left behind. 🙂
2 stars because the cherry instructions were spot on. The cake however was a failure. I followed the instructions to a T, used top of the line ingredients, and the cakes fell apart. Just disintegrated into crumbs….I have never in my 15 years of baking had this happen. I was really upset until I tasted it. Bleh. Even with the cup and a half of b. sugar, the cake tasted like unsweetened chocolate and flour. Also, stabilized whipped cream with cornstarch is terrible….always use vanilla pudding to stabilize whipped cream.
It was nice to go through your post. Thanks for sharing the recipe here. Keep up the good work.